Fork with Mule-Head Finial

Description

This two-tined silver fork has a faceted handle that terminates in a mule head, perhaps a nod to its use for meat— whether cooking, serving, or eating. Forks from the premodern Mediterranean are rare, only known through a small number of surviving examples. Extant forks are relatively large and often bronze, making this silver example still more rare.

Provenance

Michael Ward; Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Alexander, Chagrin Falls, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art (-1987); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1987-)

Fork with Mule-Head Finial

[]

375–425 CE

Accession Number

1987.210

Medium

silver

Dimensions

Overall: 0.5 x 20.4 cm (3/16 x 8 1/16 in.)

Classification

Metalwork

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Alexander